ふたりで
by sayumi-konoto
Summary: "Sorry, I won't have the time. My brother's taking me to Power Records tonight." "I thought you only had a sister," Nozomi said. Minato blinked, as if he did not understand,"... but I do." The food fanatics stared at each other. Minato softly gasped,"Oh, I meant Junpei." Nozomi narrowed his eyes.
1. Gray

Kotone shot up off the couch as soon as she heard the sound of the front door open. Her ruby eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer and she put her hands on her hips, expressing false anger at the other.

"Where the hell were you? We're supposed to go to Tartarus tonight, remember?" The other teen merely shrugged and kept his gaze solely on his boots. Kotone narrowed her eyes at her brother's lack of response and frowned. What was up with him now?

"…" He didn't make any sort of sound of acknowledgement even as she moved to stand in front of him. His azure hair appeared to be more unruly than normal as a result of the harsh November winds and his pale hands gripped a rather familiar-looking notebook…

Kotone harshly gripped her brother's shoulders and imploringly searched his face, "Minato, what happened!?" He flinched when she shouted, but otherwise, neither moved. In the background, Kotone could hear the low buzz of the television and the faint footfalls of the other team members that we stirred by the shouting.

"Arisato, what is going on?" Mitsuru asked from the staircase with clear alarm in her voice. Everyone had been extremely worried when Minato didn't show up around curfew and had not replied to any texts. Surely, the field leader's sudden yells was questionable.

Kotone disregarded her senior and eased the notebook out of Minato's hands, "Isn't this…?"

"… Akinari's." He finished hoarshly. This time, he raised his head and the twins met eyes. Instantly, Kotone understood what had happened.

"Why…" she opened the book to the title page," why didn't you come get me?" Underneath the Acknowledgements section, she spied her and her brother's names," I… He's my friend too…"

She looked back up to find Minato shaking, his eyes squinting in the rare occurrence of tears as he nodded. The teenage girl felt her heart break for what felt like the tenth time in the last few weeks. This was the first time she had seen her brother like this in a long time. Even after Shinjiro's was put in a coma, Minato had not been this torn.

"Ah! Minato-kun, welcome back-"Fuuka called down, having just arrived and oblivious to the atmosphere of the room. Akihiko held the teal-haired teen back and signaled for her to be quiet. Kotone became aware of how everyone had gathered with expectant and worried eyes. She tried to smile for her friends to prove that she had total control over the situation.

Beside her, she could see Minato bring his hands up to cover ears like he always did when he was stressed or overwhelmed, and she felt her false smile wither alongside her brother's impassive mask.

"… I thought I would've been used to death by now. I thought- I thought, I-I,"

"I know," she whispered, pulling her crying twin into her embrace and forcing her own tears away," I know."

* * *

 **God, I love the twins. And Akinari. I also love to break stereotype. There should be more of this at some point.**


	2. Amber

Yosuke Hanamura would make it his life mission to fix Minato Arisato's social awkwardness. Ever since they met in You in Wonderland, everyone could clearly see that Minato was a complete novice at holding conversations.

Not that Yosuke was an expert or anything, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, the blue-haired teen was worse at talking than Kanji, more aloof than Zen (which is certainly saying something), and expressed even less emotions than Aigis would. Compared to his twin (who happened to a very, _very_ energetic vice leader), Minato was mere ant on the social scale. Kotone was beyond a social butterfly; she probably could be an idol and Yosuke would not be surprised. She and Rise got along very well and nothing was ever awkward with them around. However, when Minato was the center of attention, he did weird things like fiddle with his headphones, play with his hair, or silently whisper to Koromaru like the dog was actual person (though, on further contemplation, Yosuke could excuse this particular habit because Koro seemed fully capable of understanding and responding.) (Though, he was a little worried those two were plotting _something_.)

Not to mention his refusal to say anything more than a few words.

When he had introduced himself, he had merely muttered (almost whispered, for god's sake!) his name and offered no other information. At first, Yosuke could pass it off as being uncomfortable around strangers, but now, they had all been in the weird Yasogami High for what could be considered a month and everyone had come to memorize each other's favorite meals and fighting styles. If he was still thinking he needed to be polite with everyone by now, well… that was why it was very important that Yosuke was there to help him (since no one else was really trying.)

Now if only he could find him.

* * *

"Hey, partner, have you seen Minato-kun?" He asked his trusty friend who was scribbling something in his notebook.

Souji looked up and tapped his pen on his chin thoughtfully," No. I think Aigis would have a better idea, though. What do you need him for?" for some reason, the silver-haired Wild Card smirked knowingly," Were you going to ask him about his music?"

Yosuke raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother to question his best friend (he looked kind of cute when he smirked- not that Yosuke was thinking about that) and instead shrugged," Well, I figured someone would have to get him out of his shell by now. I mean, we even convinced Mitsuru-senpai to chill out, and she's like the strictest person I've met."

Souji laughed good-naturedly and tilted his head to the left as he replied, "Alright then, have fun! Don't make him too uncomfortable, though. You might make it worse," something in his eyes said that he knew this from experience, and Yosuke saved the thought for later. Being popular and the world's most gracious teen counselor must be difficult.

* * *

Locating Aigis was not as hard as Yosuke expected. She was bent over the balloon-fishing station, her bright blue eyes narrowed in pure concentration as she tried to catch a yellow striped balloon.

Yosuke waited patiently for her to finish and laughed to himself when she muttered, "Mission accomplished!"

"Hey Aigis-san, do you know where Minato is?" He tried to make himself look casual because he definitely had not forgotten just how protective the android was of Minato and he did not want her suspicious of his intentions.

"Over here."

Yosuke turned around to see the blue-haired Persona-user sitting on a stray desk, swinging his bare feet aimlessly and bobbing his head to whatever song he was listening to. He seemed he had been watching Aigis play.

Yosuke smiled and adjusted his headphones," What're up to? Wanna talk or something?" _Just act natural. Don't be overwhelming._

Minato pointed to his headphones as though that was answer and said nothing.

Yosuke blinked.

 _Really…?_ Was this how it was going to be? That was okay; he could play this game, too.

"What?"

The shorter blinked as though he not expected the other to keep going. Yosuke smirked and had to stifle a laugh when Minato raised his visible eyebrow.

"… I'm listening to music."

"What kind?"

"Uh… heavy metal…?"

Yosuke laughed then. He could've guessed that one on his own; Minato wasn't necessarily playing it quietly. He was sure Kotone had pointed this out several times.

"Who's the artist? What's your favorite song?" Oh, yes. Yosuke Hanamura was going to be annoyingly persistent today.

Minato was already anxiously running his fingers through his hair and sighing not-so-subtly. Geez, they hadn't even been talking for a whole minute. How did this guy survive in the city? "Shoji Meguro… I like "Burn My Dread" a lot…" He met eyes with Yosuke, and the brunet thought that he actually saw _interest_ in the quiet boy's gray orbs," Do you… ah, have you ever listened to Lotus Juice before…?"

"Hell yes!" Yosuke grinned brightly and Minato actually (kinda-sort of) smiled back.

* * *

"-and Ted just throws off his suit and jumps into the pool with a bunch of toddlers in it, clothes and all, and bursts out crying! I still have no idea what that was about, but he stills owes a lot of money to a bunch of ladies for breaking all those beach balls."

Minato took another bite out of what was probably his fifth bowl of udon and scrunched up his nose," That's… certainly interesting. And this was because you didn't buy him a Topsicle? That seems a little farfetched."

"I know right! Anyway, he's grounded right now- which is hilarious because he's only lived here for like two months- and he's totally pissed about it now because he won't get any desserts for a month. He complains every night that - and I quote- "I don't think I could bear another night without the love of my life!"

"I'm starting to think you guys are related," Minato said, taking a sip of water to hide his smile. Yosuke was surprisingly good at impressions.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean! I am not-"

* * *

Nearby, both Team Yaso and Team Gekkou gathered and intently watched the two teenagers speak.

"…I don't get it. I've been trying to talk to him for months, but Yosuke-kun can literally get him to talk for thirty minutes? What did Yosuke say to him?" Yukari questioned. Honestly, she didn't seem too angry about the situation. It was about time Minato actually hung out with someone besides his sister.

"Hm…" Aigis closed her eyes as she recalled his exact statement," I believe Minato-san said something about 'burning bread' and 'the juices of a lotus flower.' Then, Yosuke-san had exclaimed, " _Hell yes!_ " They have not stopped speaking since then."

Kotone and Yukiko burst out into peals of laughter.

* * *

 **It turns out I also really love Persona Q. I really wish femc was in there too. I love all the interactions. I noticed that Yosuke always seemed to be hanging out with Minato and I was inspired. I just realized this was hardly about SEES as a whole, but eh, writing is fun. That's what fanfiction is about!**


	3. Light Orange

Sighing heavily, Shinjiro removed his beanie from his dry hair and dropped it on the counter. As rare as it was for him to be bothered by heat, he had been using the oven nearly all day (seriously, was this place becoming a daycare or what?) and it was still summer, so he figured it justified to be a little 'adventurous' with his attire. If it could even be called that.

Opening the oven, he took the chicken out and put it on the stove by the curry stew. With a purposeful sniff, he stirred the stew once more and turned off the heating unit with a sense of finality. He finally finished cooking the meal and now he could just focus on composing the final product to something appealing. He was in the middle of cutting the chicken to mix in the curry when he heard the front door open and two loud, bubbly voices.

"… he seemed kinda nice to me. I mean, I just think he didn't know what he was saying," Yukari paused as though she was trying to recall something, "Wait, he's not a native speaker, is he? Gosh! How much do you bet some jerk lied to him about that! What is it with bullies at our school?"

"Yeah, Bebe is pretty sweet! It's a shame that people are so immature to him. I totally agree with you, girl," the door slammed shut," At least he knows more languages than any one of us would bother to learn. It has to hard to be in a foreign country without anyone you know that can speak your language. I know I would be completely clueless if I was in the same situation."

Shinjiro held his breath. The girls were getting closer, but hopefully they hadn't noticed him.

"Oh, give yourself more credit! I'm sure you'd manage to find the one Japanese speaker in the country and become best friends with them! I don't know a single person that would hate you enough to lie to you about how greeting people works. Bebe-san, maybe, but not you."

"Are you suggesting that I could seduce myself through any situation?" Kotone's laugh sounded dangerously close.

"N-no, I meant you just- huh?" Yukari stopped just in time with both of their footsteps. Crap.

He heard a bit of shuffling and a whine that reminded him that Koromaru was sitting right by the kitchen door, prepared to blow his cover. Shit.

"Hey, Koro, is senpai in there?" Kotone asked. Koromaru barked in reply. Damn. Shinjiro really hoped they couldn't tell what that meant. Yet, he knew the girls were smart enough to decipher Koromaru's answer. He also knew they had very functional noses and they could just smell the curry scent in the air. Oh well.

"You're back earlier than I expected," he said to the girls, sighing deeply and accepting his fate of constantly feeling embarrassed by these girls that found him _oh so charming._

Kotone smiled warmly and opened the gate in between the small counter facing the kitchen and the open kitchen door. Shinji thought about reprimanding her for letting Koromaru in, but he could clearly see that the impatient dog was trapped in Yukari's grasp.

"What are you making, Shinjiro-senpai?" Kotone asked sweetly. Her ruby eyes bore into Shinjiro's side.

"Dinner," he replied succinctly. It made him uncomfortable knowing that he couldn't lie to this girl that he refused to call Leader. It was like she had some magic ability to get people to tell the truth. Not that there was any point in lying to her about something she could clearly see.

"Oh, curry!" Yukari exclaimed as she examined all the prepared dishes and side dishes arranged out on the counters, "Is that gyoza, too?"

Shinjiro didn't honor that with a response. Instead, he proceeded to ignore the company and continued to chop the chicken into chewable pieces. He didn't want Ken to choke on any big pieces. Or Minato for that matter. Shinji easily discovered in the two weeks since he returned that the quieter twin could eat quite a lot really fast.

Kotone stood close to her senior and watching intently as he slid the pieces into the curry. Much to his annoyance, she giggled when her purposefully left out some pieces for Mitsuru. She must've known that Mitsuru liked to have her meat separate from the sauce as well, and now she was laughing at him for being mindful of his friend. Shinji groaned.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to not stick your head in other people's business?" He growled out, trying to sound angry. Yukari seemed to buy it for a moment because she flinched and almost dropped Koromaru in the process, but Kotone, of course, was unfazed by his manner.

"I don't really remember. My parents died when Minato and I were seven," She answered nonchalantly. She leaned in to sniff the curry and Shinjiro batted her away with his elbow. Internally, Shinji was glad that she wasn't outwardly upset about his ignorance about her family situation. He wouldn't know how to deal with her if she was.

"…Didn't Mitsuru ever tell you to not be a prick?" He inquired without meaning to. He stirred the stew one last time and moved the pot to a burner that wasn't still warm.

The juniors laughed and managed to rile up Koromaru in the process, who waggled his tail (cutely) excitedly. Was what he said really that funny? He had heard Mitsuru say that to Akihiko many times.

"I don't know if I would compare Mitsuru-senpai to a mother," Yukari said cheerily.

Kotone nodded to her friend in a sort of practiced way that suggested that the pair had this particular conversation many times, "Yeah, she's more of that strict aunt, y'know."

"Aki, then?" Shinjiro slipped out. Why was he playing along with them? They would just keep bugging him if he did.

Again, the girls burst into peals of laughter. Their cheeks were rosy and their smiles seemed to make the room a little brighter. Shinji felt the corners of his mouth raise and he wiped his own smile away with his sleeves.

"No way! Sanada-senpai is more like the energetic dad! He wouldn't say something like that!" The girls grinned at each other in the mirth of their little inside joke, and Shinjiro felt that they looked more beautiful when they were happy and being normal teenagers and not serious Persona-users they had to be all the time. It made his worn heart beat in a pleasing way. He definitely took a liking to these two so soon. Maybe he was getting attached to them. If he was, then he would certainly end up regretting it later, and he didn't need any more things to regret.

He suddenly wasn't in the mood to hear the laughter.

"Well, I'm telling you now to go stick your noses somewhere else. Go find something else to do, or whatever, just don't bug me."

The girls nodded dutifully and carried Koromaru out with them. Shinji watched them leave with a touch of guilt that he had to break their good mood like that, but he really needed to be away from them. Or he was trying to convince himself that he needed to be.

"Okay, mom, I'll keep that mind!" Kotone shouted from the staircase. Yukari's poorly hidden giggles followed suit.

Shinjiro sighed.

* * *

 **Wow, this took over five hours. This whole one-shot was literally formed around one insignificant interaction that I didn't include in this story. Oh well. I hope it came out nicely.**


	4. A Lighter Gray

"Stop touching my hair!" Yukari cried out, effectively shoving Ryoji off the couch.

Fuuka snorted and burst into giggles, her sea foam colored hair gleaming under the dim lobby lighting. She tried to stop laughing to ask Ryoji if he was alright, but as soon as she took a deep breath, she burst into another fit of giggles. Yukari stared at her friend in minor surprise and joined in.

"Ow! You didn't have to throw me off!" Ryoji exclaimed dramatically, not appearing injured in the slightest. He pulled himself off the carpet and made his way to sit down again, but Koromaru expertly jumped into the empty space and proceeding to rub his head into Yukari's side. Even through her laughing fit, she reached out and gave the Shiba Inu affectionate scratches without even looking.

Ryoji gaped.

Now Junpei joined in the laughter," Dude, I warned you to not mess with Yuka-tan!" He reached up and pulled off his hat to run his fingers over his hair, "Actually, don't mess with any the chicks in this dorm. They are all _very_ capable of killing you."

When the girls calmed down, Yukari nodded approvingly to Junpei's statement," That is very true. I'm proud of you, Junpei. It seems like you _do_ learn something every once and a while."

"Hey! I resent that!"

Stepping out of the restroom, Kotone tilted her head and walked out to stand by the couches," What are we resenting? Something about hair?"

"Yeah," Yukari said, letting Koromaru spread across her and Fuuka's laps and offering Ryoji's seat to the Wild Card," Ryoji-kun was playing with my hair, so I expelled him from couch privileges."

Fuuka giggled again and Kotone took the offered seat, sliding close to her best friend," I didn't know we had 'couch privileges' but I'll take your word for it," The ruby-eyed girl gave one glance to Ryoji's pitiful pout and smiled," though, don't be too harsh. I'm sure he was just curious about your beautiful hair!"

"When he learns to ask for permission, then I might consider it," the brunet replied good-naturedly.

The scarf-wearing boy sighed and sunk into the spot next to Junpei. A comfortable silence passed that was only filled with the bright voices of the children's television show playing on the T.V. Koromaru turned over on his back and began to lick Fuuka's cheek. The poor girl looked like she was going to run out air from all of her laughing. Kotone straightened up her pajama shirt and took out her pony tail while staring at Yukari's hair like she desperately wanted to play with it too. Junpei yawned and put his feet in Ryoji's lap while the other fiddled with his scarf.

"We have arrived- ah!" Aigis suddenly burst through the front door with Minato in tow and froze, causing Minato to slam straight into her back with a pained grunt," Ryoji-san…" she narrowed her glowing eyes and crossed her arms, looking at her leader," Why is he present?"

Fuuka beat everyone to the punch, waving to the arrivals as she spoke," Don't worry Aigis! He's not hurting anybody! He came by to say hi to everyone."

Aigis did not look convinced, but gave no protest, letting Minato in before her and closing the door. Minato rubbed his forehead where he rammed into the android and removed his headphones without bothering to greet anybody as headed toward the stairs.

"Welcome back, you two!" Ryoji said with a smile, despite the circumstances," Would either of you like to join us?"

Aigis hesitated before sitting in a couch chair and crossing her legs in a very human-like posture. Everyone turned their heads expectantly to Minato, who had paused and looked utterly clueless to what had occurred.

"…What?"

Kotone snorted. Sometimes Minato could be very predictable," Come hang out with us. Akihiko-senpai will be back in a few with dinner."

"I'm busy," he lied. He really wanted to sit on his bed with the lights off and stew in the silence, but with seven imploring gazes fixed on him, he was incapable of ignoring them.

That was fine. He could just stand around until food arrived and leave.

Without a word, he stalked over to his favorite seat by the window (consisting of a folding chair that was isolated from the rest of the seats and facing to the outside so he didn't have to look at his dorm mates) and watched the dormant Lost lady across the street.

Yukari met eyes with Junpei as though she was trying to say something. Junpei shrugged like he didn't understand what was being asked and turned his attention to the television.

* * *

"If I had known I'd be feeding so many of you, I would've brought more. My bad," Akihiko said to his underclassmen as he distributed plates of Chinese takeout.

"Oh, no, you don't have to worry!" Fuuka insisted, accepting her extravagant paper platter and getting more comfortable in her chair.

"Ken-kun, can you hand me a pair of chopsticks? Ryoji asked.

The elementary student nodded dutifully, doing as asked while peeking at Minato. The blue-haired teen was slipping his way to staircase and he would've gone unnoticed if it wasn't for Ken's keen eyes. "Senpai, you're not allowed to eat upstairs after last time."

"Last time?" Ryoji inquired with an impish smile on his face.

Not wanting to miss the chance fluster her brother, Kotone smirked," He fell asleep while eating ramen and spilled the broth all over his desk and his uniform. Mitsuru still hasn't forgiven him for staining the carpet."

"Ha! I could see that happening!" Ryoji chuckled.  
At this this point, Minato gave up on leaving and settled with taking the chair in between Akihiko and Yukari at the table. He glared pointedly at his disappointed sister, but gave no other reaction and dug into his meal.

"Where's Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari asked Akihiko, who shrugged tiredly.

"She didn't really explain," the senior replied in between bites," I think those Kirijo workers aren't considering that she's a minor and she's in mourning. They've been running her ragged."

"I think it's fair to say that she's been doing that to herself," Ken stated insightfully," I-I mean, not that she's done anything bad at all! I just think she isn't giving herself a break either."

"You're absolutely right, Ken. Mitsuru shouldn't have to worry about all that responsibility yet; she's still a teenager and everything that's happened was because of a bunch of mean old people that had too much power in their hands. She shouldn't have to feel like this is her fault," Kotone asserted, putting down her glass of milk with more force than necessary.

"Hm? What's happened?" Ryoji interrupted, instantly reminding the Persona-users that they shouldn't have conversations about the Dark Hour with guests over.

"Mitsuru-senpai's father died," Junpei inputted solemnly. Ryoji noted the haunted look in everybody's eyes and decided not to press further.

"I'm sorry," the raven-haired student said. He watched the group in silence for a few moments and cleared his throat," Uh, what do you all plan to do when you finish high school?"

The S.E.E.S. members exchanged glances and were quietly grateful that Ryoji changed the subject. Fuuka gave a long chew to her chicken and spoke softly," I think I want to-no, I mean- I am definitely planning on being an engineneer," she finished with more confidence, smiling widely at Kotone across the table.

"I think I'll stick with boxing. Don't tell Mitsuru I said this, but I don't think I care enough about academics to anything with it," Akihiko admitted with a shrug.

Minato didn't answer right away, flipping his hair around so it would get out of his face. He probably needed a haircut soon, but he didn't care enough to worry that it was almost long enough to pull into a ponytail (not unlike his sister's) and that more and more people were mistaking him for a girl at first glance," Art, I guess."

Junpei scoffed," You guess?"

"Sure. Music's pretty cool," the younger teen continued," and drawing doesn't suck."

"How very insightful of you," Yukari started, bringing her hand up to her chin," I haven't really thought of anything past well, um, _you know,_ but I kinda liked the idea of working in an office. Maybe."

Kotone raised an eyebrow skeptically," Really, now?"

"H-Hey, don't just- ugh!" the pink-clad teen was suddenly flustered, standing up so that her chair screeched as it scraped the floor," Fine! I wanna be an actor! You happy?" Kotone laughed aloud and Yukari settled back into her seat and frowned in a playful manner.

Ryoji chuckled," You'd be really good at that Yukari-san! As for me, I would want to be a teacher. I'd love to witness how children grow up in a learning environment. I love to think about how much influence school and classmates have on people. What about you A-Aigis-san?"

"I do not know," the blond remarked flatly.

"Ah. I see… Do you have any interests at all? Personally, I think you'd get a lot of money as a bouncer."

"A bouncer? Does that refer to a person that jumps? I do not understand," Aigis frowned. Her system wasn't necessarily built for professional jumping. What was Ryoji trying to say about her?

"Don't worry about it, Aigis, he's just joking!" Junpei interrupted, ushering Ken to speak.

The young brunet looked a little lost for a moment, but quickly caught on," Um, I'm not so sure. I haven't really found anything I like…"

"That's totally fine, Ken-kun," Fuuka commented," You're only in fifth grade so you shouldn't have to worry about that for a long time."

The boy nodded glumly at being called out for his age, but wisely did not argue. Everyone turned to look at the designated leader for her answer, but she gave an anticlimactic shrug.

"Like Yukari, I haven't thought about life past high school. I have a lot of things I like, though. I'll be fine, though. I have a year to figure it out."

"Me, too, bro!" Junpei concurred nervously," You guys know I won't get anywhere with my grades, but if Koto-tan says I gotta year, then I won't worry about it!"

Yukari rolled her eyes. Some part of her- probably the more mature side of her- noticed that her team mates- mainly consisting of orphans and abused and neglected children- had no idea what they wanted to pursue in life. Their answers were all tentative and short compared to Ryoji's well-thought-out, meaningful answer. It was almost if the Shadows placed a strong vice on all of their futures. It was a little depressing.

Maybe they all needed a little more positive influence in their lives to inspire them to enjoy it.

"Junpei, maybe you're right. You might not get anywhere with your just your smarts, but I think that if you…" she paused for a moment to form the statement correctly in her head," I think that if you really put effort into it, you could succeed with just your heart."

Everyone stared and spoke no words. The hush was a thoughtful one that lasted for almost two minutes before Junpei spoke again.

"…Thank you, Yukari."

The two juniors beamed at each other for a whole, genuine moment before Junpei snickered and said that Yukari was getting sappier as the year went on. Everyone else joined in the cheerful atmosphere that lasted all the night.

* * *

 **(Can you guess who's my favorite character yet? I think it's screamingly obvious)** **Some day, I will be capable of writing Mitsuru.** **Thank you all for your support! I really appreciate it!**

 **If you have any prompts (non-romance please, I am weak and aro) I would really like to see them. Something about Tartarus would be nice because I have yet to write about the tower.**


	5. Faded

She woke up in her bedroom on the first of February and instantly remembered everything. She relived every moment from the decision to give mercy to Strega to the moment she stood above her friends and faced the Mother of Night on her own.

What were the chances that they remembered as well?

She heard a knock on her bedroom door, and later, Yukari suggesting that she either hurry up or be left behind, and realized those chances are very slim.

* * *

After a day of observing, she realized that not even Minato remembered and it scared her. She had desperately hoped that he would have; how could he forget battling the Harbinger of Death when he had had Death sealed inside of him for a whole decade?

But seeing how easily a smile would come to her brother's face now made her feel a little bit better.

* * *

It was Valentine's Day when she began to understand that she would die. Having her soul and her body in two separate places was taking a lot of energy out of her and she knew she wouldn't make it to her senior year. At least being too tired to attend volleyball practice gave her a better excuse to spend time with her dorm mates.

Of course, the fact that they all forgot the Dark Hour meant that they also forgot their family-like bonds, and thus, had no reason to interact with other. At least she was actually related to Minato. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if he ignored her like the others did.

She stood by the door to the Music Club and waited patiently for the club members to finish cleaning up so she could talk to her brother. She heard news that he would be the captain of the club next school year and she wanted to congratulate him. She didn't have to wait too long because the musicians moved quickly and left the slow-paced junior on his own.

"Hey, slow-poke! You guys sounded great," she said as she stepped in the room.

Minato obviously had not been expecting her to show up because he flinched and dropped his music stand on the floor. "T-thanks. Why are you here?" He replied, regaining his composure.

She smiled fondly," No reason but to congratulate the future Music Club captain," she paused to watch him put away the stand and grab his school bag from underneath his chair," I bet you got a bunch chocolates today, too."

"Uh, not really," He mumbled as he led her out of the room," mostly just obligatory stuff," he elaborated, sneaking a glance at his sister. "Why aren't you at practice?"

She smiled tiredly for an answer and Minato frowned.

"Y' should've gone. Iwasaki-san probably would've liked it if you gave her something," He muttered after a pause.

She laughed aloud and playfully shoved him, infinitely grateful for his support and very proud of his growth as a person over the year.

* * *

On February 23rd, she fell asleep in class twice. Each time, Minato would be the one to grab her attention before a teacher could notice. It was an odd role switch that she never expected to happen. Before the fight with Nyx, Minato would have always been the one to fall asleep in class, fail tests, stare blankly at the board and such. Now, he sits straight in seat and rarely misses a question. He even passed a few of Ekoda-sensei's brutal pop quizzes!

The same could not be said for her. She was having difficulties paying attention, much less staying awake, and her grades were taking a massive hit as a result. She wasn't worried in the slightest, but she could tell that Minato (and a lot of other people, honestly) was upset about it.

"Are you alright?" He asked when school was over and she was still rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"Of course," She insisted, ignoring the screaming soreness of her dry throat. At the pace of a tortoise, she changed out of her school shoes.

She froze when she felt something brush against her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw that her brother was handing her several papers while attempting to put on his boots with one hand.

"What's…?" She trailed off to keep herself from coughing and accepted the papers so Minato wouldn't fall over.

When they both had their shoes on and were out of the building, Minato explained," Notes… I think. The blond that sits next to you told me to give them to you."

She stared at the neatly written kanji long enough that she nearly missed the openly worried look Minato threw her way.

"Koto… are you sure you're okay?" He questioned softly, using the nickname he hadn't used since they were both six year olds.

"I promise. I'm just tired," she reassured, placing the notes in her bag. "I'll have to thank Aigis at some point."

Minato frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets," Whatever. Let's go home."

She smiled at Minato's final statement and pushed herself to match his pace.

Minato hadn't called a place home since he was six, either.

* * *

March 5th was Senior Graduation Day and the day she knew would she die.

She had spent the previous days worrying and wishing and accepting, and she finally decided that she had nothing to fear. She would miss her friends- her family- dearly and she hated the fact that she'd leave them behind in grief, but she had made the choice to become the Great Seal. She would never go back on something like that. She had signed a contract; made a commitment that was unerasable.

Speaking of commitments, she promised to meet on the school roof with the rest of her friends.

She hoisted herself out of bed, wondering how she would even make it all the way to the roof of a four story building in her condition. She managed to the lobby with immense difficulty and spied her brother at the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning!" She greeted breathlessly, her strained smile fading when she saw his frown.

"You're sick." He said flatly, blocking her way to the door. "You should be in bed."

She would've giggled if she had energy. Minato could really be like Shinjiro if he wanted to be. "I'll be fine; it's the last day."

"Then you have no reason to be there," He responded, ushering her to the couches," I'll write notes for you, so you don't need to worry about that."

She laughed/coughed at him, not having the strength to push her twin away," Dummy; there's no notes on Grad Day."

Minato rolled his eyes and felt her cold forehead," Whatever, I'll be right back so stay here, okay."

She watched his short form move to the door and realized that it might the last time she'd ever see him. At least she could leave knowing that he would be contented with his life.

"Love you!" She called out feintly.

Minato turned and finally smiled a big, perfect smile," You too, Kotone."

* * *

Not too long after Minato had left, Aigis came downstairs and helped Kotone off of the couch. Tears adorned her once robotic face.

"Kotone-san, should we head out now?"

"Of course, Aigis. We made a promise after all."

* * *

 **I was struck with sudden inspiration. I hope this is pleasing to read.**

 **I've tried several times to write from Minato's point of view, but everytime I end up writing about someone thinking about him. The extent of my love for this fictional character baffles me daily.**


	6. Bright Blue

"Stop folding your socks before you put them in the basket," Minato said to his twin as he took apart her large collection of ridiculous socks that he had laid out across the floor.

Kotone didn't even spare her brother a glance and retorted," Make sure your clothes actually _make it_ to the basket."

Minato merely grunted in response and Kotone smirked triumphantly from her perch on her freshly made bed. _Oh yes_ , it was cleaning day in Iwatodai Dorm and Minato had Laundry Duty. _Not_ her.

"Do you need help?" The ever sweet and sibling-less Fuuka asked Minato. The teal-haired teen was leaning against Kotone's shoulder and had been immersed in the really old reruns that were playing on the T.V. until Minato had interrupted.

"Don't worry 'bout it," both Arisatos said at once, catching both Fuuka and Mitsuru off guard. The twins made brief eye contact and Minato was the first to break it, unable to stand off against Kotone's blazing glare.

"This week's his turn to do our laundry, so he gets no help," Kotone explained, resuming her memorizing activity of brushing Mitsuru's scarlet hair. It was midsummer and hot as hell, but hell if Kotone wasn't going to spend hours playing with her senpai's gorgeous locks while sitting in the comfort of a well-air-conditioned dormitory with her best friends.

Fuuka nodded and tentatively reached for Kotone's auburn tresses," Do you mind?"

"Go for it." The Wild Card encouraged, feeling her heart skip pleasantly when Fuuka giggled in response.

Kotone never could remember ever being as happy as she was since she moved back to Iwatodai. She has lived in several places that she had liked with fun classmates, but nothing could compare to where she was now. Even with the Dark Hour, Tartarus, Social Links, and everything in between, she was truly content with her life. She had no regrets so far.

"Wait, I did last week's laundry."

Except for not kicking her brother out when she had the chance.

Minato dropped a hideous yellow and orange spotted tank top on the floor and looked up at Kotone," Why are you making me do yours again?" He appeared accosted.

"I was at a competition last week. Besides, it's not like you're busy now." She justified succinctly, hinting not-so-subtly that Minato needed to leave the room if he planned on going unscathed.

"I actually _am_ busy," He lied as he stood and dusted off his shorts as though they actually became dirty from sitting down, "Besides," He paused dramatically, knowing that using Kotone's words against her would always tick her off," It's not like you're doing anything important."

Kotone sighed to stop herself outwardly frowning at her twin's rather annoying battle tactic," Yeah, for the first time in months. Unlike _you_ , I actually like to enjoy my free time instead of moping for hours on end."

"You say that like I don't do things."

The girl almost scoffed," Oh, my bad! It's just that I've never seen you do anything note worthy!" She poured every last drop of sarcasm into this cocktail and it was only going to get bitterer from here. At this point, the twins had caught Fuuka's and Mitsuru's full attention, but had been too engrossed in their argument to even notice.

Minato raised his visible eyebrow," I'm in track, music, and fashion club and I part time at Cha-"

Kotone rolled her eyes and countered," I meant things you do on your own. Not what other people tell you to, doofus."

The blunette froze and Kotone knew for sure that he was out of juice for a proper response. He could drop the conversation right there and be over with it or he could try to bullshit his way through.

Of course, what was a sibling without the pointless shitty-ness?

"I do things on my own." He said after a pause. His annoyance was clear on his face and Kotone would have celebrated his openness had he not been the person her own annoyance had been aimed at.

"Like what?"

Minato blinked.

Kotone's smug grin only grew larger," Exactly. Maybe you should stop listening to me if you're so worried about losing free time. Go out and do things you actually like doing, hm?" There was no way he would be able to come up with a retort at this point. She had won once again (just like she almost always did) and there was no chance of him salvaging the throne. He wouldn't even be able to bullshit through. His only option was surrender.

The look on his face showed that he was very aware of that. With the little sliver of maturity that remained in him throughout the conversation, he modestly admitted," I listen to you because it's easier."

Though it was very hard to take the teenager seriously when he was surrounded by a pile of miscellaneous dirty clothes, Kotone nodded and pushed back her regal curls behind her shoulder," Cause' I make better decisions, yeah?" She smiled like a corrupted queen upon a criminal who she had just sentenced to execution.

For a whole moment, it seemed as though Minato was going to make another comeback, but both twins stopped when their senpai spoke up in what seemed like the first time in an hour.

"Arisa-" Mitsuru blinked when she caught the attention of both of the siblings and then cleared her throat to regain her composure," Um, Kotone, can you let go?" She looked down at her red mane almost guiltily," You're pulling my hair."

"…" Slowly, Kotone looked down to her occupied hand. Throughout her argument, she must not have noticed she had been brushing Mitsuru's hair and probably had been dragging along one spot for too long. Carefully, she extracted the brush and placed it on her pillow." …Oops."

Another pause ensued, one much more awkward than the last, and certainly much longer. Briefly, Kotone humored the thought that she had been abruptly dethroned by a third party, even if that third party had not performed anything specifically remarkable.

"…pfft!" Fuuka, rather unexpectedly, burst into a fit of laugher, effectively breaking both the silence and the tension. She had tried to control her laughter, but failed when Mitsuru joined in with an undignified snort.

Despite the childish war that the twins had just fought, they both met eyes and gave weird half-smiles to each other. Even if his smile was not full and noticeable, Kotone could clearly see how happy Minato was and she felt very proud to know that happiness was because he was learning to trust people as friends.

And she would always do everything in her power to make sure that he would never have to be lonely again.

* * *

 **In all the twin fics, I noticed a distinct lack of pointless arguments. Now, I have solved the problem. sibling banter is good, i guess. From the point of view of an only child (every Fuuka I have written in these one-shots is basically me. just laughing shyly but loudly. dats me) I'm serious about those requests, though. I will literally write something dedicated to you if you comment. You guys are my life force. Have a nice day**


	7. Muddy

"Me Patra!" Yukiko called over the rush of Zionga's from her teammates. The green light flashed in front of each of the Persona users and briefly confused those who were heavily engaged in defeating the Idle Basalts.

Grimacing when the blood flowed back through her fingers, Kotone hastily summoned her sub-Persona to land a Hama on an unsuspecting Shadow. With ease, she whipped her evoker out of its holster and pointed it to her head, smirking as the Basalt became surrounded in glowing cards and abruptly vanished in a puff of black ichor.

To the brunette's left, Naoto, who had been previously petrified as well, swiftly took down the final shadow with Sukuna-Hikona's own light spell. Seemingly unaware of Kotone's staring, the detective pumped her fist and cheered quietly. Kotone had to resist the urge to call out her kouhai's cuteness and instead focused on commending the healer of the group properly.

"Hey, Yukiko, thanks again! You're really great!"

The dark-haired girl blushed lightly when she realized who had spoken to her and waved her hands," Ah, it's nothing you have to thank me for, Kotone-chan! It's what I specialize in after all!" She looked embarrassed and Kotone would have told her that she didn't have to brush off the appreciation but Souji beat her to it.

"Sometimes doing the stuff you're good at is worthy of being thanked for." Souji caught a Persona card that formed as a result of the battle and smiled," You're very helpful, Yukiko, so of course we want to thank you." With a flourish, the Wild Card turned and began walking, signaling for the group to follow.

Kotone sighed, slightly unnerved with how often she and Souji seemed to be on the exact same page, but straightened up her posture and gave a supportive pat on the taller girl's shoulder. "Don't feel like you have to refuse thanks because you're trying not to sound conceited. Without healers, we'd just be hopeless. We're lucky to have good healers like you and Yukari!"

Yukiko smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear," You're welcome, then, Vice Leader!"

"Yukiko! Come on!" Chie shouted, drawing the attention of the girls. She stood at the bend in the overly pink path with the rest of the group behind her.

The black-haired teen nodded vigorously to her best friend's call and began walking. Kotone watched the swift change of Yukiko's expression from the side, surprised by how raw the expression was. Yukiko's smile earlier had been light and simple but then it transformed into an enthralling and authentic beam when Chie called her name. As cheesy as the thought was, Kotone could say with confidence that Yukiko lit up like fireworks when she saw her best friend.

For some reason, Kotone felt jealous of the brief interaction between the two teens.

She wanted to be able to be the light in someone's eyes too.

* * *

Sometime later after the group returned to the Culture Festival, Kotone isolated herself to an empty classroom in the Practice Building. Generally, hiding from all social interaction possible was her twin's job, but the Wild Card had been in an off mood and she had no intention of letting anyone else be aware of that. She tried to get as comfortable as she could laying her head on a school desk and curling her feet underneath the chair so her legs wouldn't feel stiff. She placed her headphones face up and hummed along to the melancholic " _Time_ " as her thoughts raced.

She was taking the alone time to sort out why her depression was kicking her in the ass at the moment. She assumed that it branched from the frustrations between the members of S.E.E.S. and the fact that she was the leader of the group (and the one with Infinite Potential) and she wasn't fixing the problem. She should've been able to do something about the shaky bonds her teammates had because she had the actual _literal_ power to. Yet, all she could do was acknowledge that her team was shitty at trusting each other and then get jealous that other people could be so close. She was being ridiculous. If she could just get over the underlying anxiety of coming off as too pretentious, she could actually make an effort to make her teammates (her friends, her _family_ ) closer to each other.

Yukari was the only one who was actively trying to get everyone to open up to each other. Ken, Shinjiro, and Akihiko all seemed to have some sort of back story that was never spoken of. Mitsuru always took too much responsibility and wouldn't let others help. Junpei always seemed tense around Minato for some reason. Minato always acted like he didn't care, and Kotone was failing to be what her team needed. Watching Souji and his friends interact in battle and in regular situations made Kotone realize that she could be better for her friends. Even some of the Yaso Team members other than their Wild Card were better at talking to S.E.E.S. members than Kotone could.

Why couldn't she help? She was the sociable one. The most charming and sweetest person in Gekkokan, wasn't she?

Abruptly, the classroom door slid open and the auburn-haired girl groaned as the light flooded her eyes. When her eyes adjusted, she observed the silhouette of the person who opened the door. The person's gleaming silver eyes gave it away.

"Go away." Kotone said without hesitation. She could imagine the troubled look on his face and she really did not want to look at a person that looked so much like her in the moment.

"I- Wow, okay," Minato flipped his hair to the side and stuffed his hands in his pockets," does that order extend to everybody, cause Ama-"

"Yes." Her throat felt unreasonably tight and her tolerance for her brother's devil-may-care attitude hit an all-time low.

Minato sighed softly, either overly-oblivious to Kotone's tone or fully aware of it and ignoring its implications, and turned away," Fine. We'll go. Amagi-san and Kujikawa-san wanted to talk with you about something, though."

"I-It's fine! We can come by later!" Yukiko insisted. Her voice sounded muted in the loud atmosphere of the Culture Festival.

Kotone frowned and attempted to sit up straighter. She could be pissy all she wanted around her brother but she felt like it was unfair to be depressing around people she wasn't related to. The only problem was acting like there was nothing wrong when she had already made it clear that _she_ , KotoneArisato, was in a bad mood. Even worse, she was in a bad mood because she thought truthfully about things and the thoughts scared her. It was very embarrassing.

Minato continued to stare. When Kotone didn't react, he moved to close the door and said unexpectedly," …sorry."

Just before the door closed, Kotone caught a glimpse of Rise's determined yet worried look and felt something jump in her heart.

"Wait!" she shouted, surprising herself," I-um, you can talk if you want!" She might end up regretting it later, but she didn't want to be rude to people that she met "days" ago that were so nice to her.

She needed to trust them. Maybe they could help her teach her friends how to trust each other as well. As selfish as that seemed to want help with something she was supposed do on her own, Kotone wanted to be able to take some of her own advice.

There was nothing selfish about asking for help. There was nothing wrong with people appreciating you.

Yukiko's warm smile greeted her when the door was opened again. Rise stepped in the room and sat down on top of desk next to Kotone. The teens remained quiet for a few seconds, quiet enough that Kotone could hear her heartbeat and what might've been Teddie shouting in the hallways. The start to an overly loud pop song on her music player startled the silence and Rise giggled.

"I remember when that song came out," The idol said, scooting over so Yukiko could sit down next to her," it sounds so different now…"

The vice leader nodded and tried to determine the outlines of Rise and Yukiko in the darkness. She figured she should say something because she could easily guess why they had come, but she wasn't sure how to say it.

"…Kotone-chan…? You know we'll help you with anything you need, right?" Yukiko asked sincerely, as if sensing Kotone's unease.

"And don't pretend nothing's wrong! Himiko can pick up negative waves like that, y'know. Somethin's up." Rise added.

The Wild Card nodded, feeling her confidence fluctuate. It was easy to ask, she knew, but she suddenly wasn't ready yet. The anxiety was filling in where her words wouldn't and the only thing that the girl was capable of doing in the moment was cry.

"Oh, it's okay, Kotone-chan," Yukiko cooed, sliding off of the desk she was sitting on and pulling the shorter girl into a hug.

Seconds later, Rise joined the hug, letting Kotone cry on her shoulder. The warmth was very welcoming," You don't have to talk just yet. Just promise me you'll talk to your friends about this later too."

Kotone let out a small sob and nodded into Rise's sleeve.

* * *

 **Hello! I'm back and I'm projecting! But that's why fanfiction is great. I deemed this one worthy of being possibly seen by other people, so sorry if seems a little too bad. I love you guys. You make me feel better when I feel shitty and i hope I can do the same for you**


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